Volkswagen's Irish franchise established

1949

Introduction:

Volkswagen begins its involvement with Ireland when Motor Distributors Limited, founded by Stephen O'Flaherty, secures the franchise for the country. The firm becomes Volkswagen Distributors Limited and eventually sets up a plant to assemble Beetles in the Irish Republic. The Volkswagen Beetles started arriving in Dublin in 1950 in batches of 20, each accompanied by £10 worth of spare parts packed in crates in what was termed 'completely knocked down' (CKD) form, ready to be assembled. The first Volkswagen ever built outside Germany is assembled in Ireland.